A subject complement is a word or phrase (usually an adjective phrase, noun
phrase, or pronoun) that follows a linking verb (is, are, was, were) and describes
or renames the subject of the sentence. Also called a subjective complement.
Understand and analyze the underlined nouns.
1. COVID-19 is a type of virus.
2. China is part of Asia.
3. Sinovac is one of the available vaccines.
In the first sentence, COVID-19 is a type of virus, since COVID-19 is the identified
subject in the sentence, therefore virus is the subjective complement in the
sentence since it describes the subject in the sentence.
1. The nouns present are COVID-19 (name of the virus) and virus (bacteria that
causes illness).
Did you also get the same answer? That’s great!
2. The nouns in this sentence are China (name of a country) and Asia (name of
continent). You got both answers correctly? Very good!
3. For the last sentence, the nouns are Sinovac (name of vaccine), and vaccine
(a medicine).
Now that you have learned about complements, let’s talk about how
complements are identified in a sentence pattern by understanding the following
sentence.
These underlined words are called subjective complement. From the word itself,
it complements the the subject and either identifies or describes it. A subject
complement is either an adjective, a noun, or a pronoun.
Easy Examples of Subject Complements
In the examples below, the linking verbs are in bold and the subject
complements are shaded:
Ben is a policeman.
(The linking verb is is (i.e., the verb to be). The subject complement identifies the
subject Ben. It is a noun.)
He will be fine.
(The linking verb is will be (i.e., the verb to be). The subject complement
describes the subject He. It is an adjective.)
I am he.
(The linking verb is am (i.e., the verb to be). The subject complement identifies
the subject I. It is a pronoun.)
That pie looks burnt to a cinder.
(The linking verb is looks. The subject complement describes the subject That pie.
It is an adjective. Don't forget adjectives (just like nouns) also come in the form
of phrases.)
Now that you have understand the function of subjective complement in a
sentence, can you try to identify the following sentences given that the word
with box is the subjective complement.
Sentence Pattern
Ben is a policeman
Identify the function of Ben and is in the given sentence.
If policeman identifies Ben, and considered as the subjective complement then
what is the function of Ben and is in the sentence?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Going back to subjective complement its function is either to identify or
describe the subject, which is Ben. In this case, we can now say that the
function of Ben is he is the “subject” in the given sentence.
Ben is a policeman
Subject subjective complement
Now, that we have identified the functions of the two, let us now go the function
of “is”. Have you noticed how it was used?
In this sentence pattern “is” is a word that connects the subject (Ben) and its
complement (policeman). This is called the linking verb, which connects the
subject and predicate.
Ben is a policeman
Subject linking verb subjective complement
This sentence pattern is called S-LV-C or Subject-Linking verb-Complement.
Now study this sentence.
The couple danced.
What do you call the word inside the box?
______________________________________________________________________________
The sentence is short but it has a complement thought, and if it has a complete
thought therefore it has a subject and a predicate. The “couple” is the one who
have done the action “danced”, therefore couple is called the subject, and
since danced was the action therefore it is called the verb, but nothing comes
after the action danced. This verb is called intransitive verb, this verb does not
have complements which receive the action. They end either in themselves or
with adverbs.
The couple danced
Subject intransitive verb
This pattern is called S-IV or Subject-Intransitive Verb.
References:
Grammar Monster (n.d.). What Is an Intransitive Verb? (with Examples) Retrieved August 3, 202 from
https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/intransitive_verbs.htm
Nordquist (2019). What are Subject Complements in English Grammar. Thought.co Retrieved August 3, 2021 from
https://www.thoughtco.com/subject-complement-grammar-1692001
